


The Key of G.

by spicypistachio



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Music, M/M, POV Bucky Barnes, Pre-Serum Steve Rogers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-27
Updated: 2019-08-27
Packaged: 2020-09-28 02:42:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 2,735
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20418572
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/spicypistachio/pseuds/spicypistachio
Summary: The Talented Music students each have been asked to compose their own pieces for their concert. One student, however, has taken this very seriously. Steve Rogers has asked all of the Talented Music kids to play his song, except no one knows the title, or who it’s dedicated to. Bucky has an idea as to who it’s written about, but doesn’t have the confidence to believe in himself.





	1. 3 Days Till Concert

**Author's Note:**

> I’m a Talented Music and Choir student, so I was really interested in writing a small music based fic! I really enjoy string instruments, so it was really cool to make this really orchestral. I also heavily based Steve off of my on self so WHOOPS! I’m a huge music nerd, and this was really fun to write, so I hope you guys enjoy!
> 
> **this is me now. i wrote this fic as a sophomore please spare me**

** _~3 days till concert~_ **

“F sharp, Bucky! It’s an F Sharp!” Steve yelled from across the practice room, visibly frustrated. If I’m being quite honest, he’s being insanely annoying. 

“I’m playing an F sharp!” I said, striking my bow against my violin again. He cocked his head to the right side and twitched his eye, a visible sign that the note was off. Steve was born with perfect pitch, and he’s always had this strange tick when he hears an off note. 

“That’s an F! I need it  _ sharp _ !” Steve exclaimed, fast walking towards me. He then took the violin out of my hand, grabbed my bow, and played a perfect F sharp. I’m not even going to lie, I’m a little jealous. Is there an instrument he can’t play? 

“I’m going to shove my bow up your ass, Rogers.” I growl, snatching my violin back. 

“That’s not all he’s gonna shove up your ass!” Tony joked, neatly falling over from his own laughs. This earned him a punch in the arm from Bruce. I turn to Steve, and his face is bright red. 

“Can we  _ please _ get back to practicing? The concert is in a couple days and this is my own piece. I’d like it to look nice.” Steve frustratingly announced. Steve has always been fond of composition, so he was ecstatic when Mrs. Carter asked him to write a piece for our concert. He even got our whole class in on it. He gave each of us a raw copy of his composition, and matched them up for our instrument. I play the violin, viola, cello, double bass, and piano, but Steve wanted me to play violin on this one. Surprisingly, he gave me the hardest part. Natasha is the best violin player we have, yet he gave her the violin two part. She was the harmony within my own little melody. 

While Natasha and I were taking the violin parts, Sam took cello, Tony took double bass, and Clint took viola. Steve, of course, took piano. He was one of the most talented pianist in the school, or really, the whole state. I could listen to him for hours on end. His playing truly is memorizing. The way his slender fingers move across the piano, and how easily they glide between notes is phenomenal. It’s as though the piano was made for him. 

“Steve, give me an F sharp please.” I asked from across the room. I wanted to make sure it was perfect this time. 

“Sure.” He responded. He immediately followed it up by singing an F#, waiting for me to match pitch with him. Eventually he was pleased and stopped. None of us were exactly sure on why he was so hellbent on getting it perfect. He’s written so many songs, but he keeps expressing how important this one is. My only theory is that it’s written for his mother, but even then he’s never stresses this hard something being so perfect. 

“Dude, Steve was so stressed it looked like the vein in his neck was going to pop!” Clint said to me as we were walking to our cars. Clint and I miraculously got a parking spot next to each other, something that rarely ever happens. 

“I know. He’s oddly loud for a tiny guy.” I chuckled. For as long as I’ve known Steve he’s been super small. I’ve basically known him since diapers. Both of our moms were in the New York Philharmonic, and they were both violin players. Because of their job and their insane practice schedules, Steve would always come over to my house when he was younger. While we had our play dates they had their practice sessions. That’s really where our love of music stemmed from. 

“He’s super anxious about this piece. He says it’s really special to him.” Clint explained while grabbing his keys out of his pocket. 

“It’s probably dedicated to his mom or something. She can’t play like she used to.” I shrugged my shoulders and grabbed my own keys. Clint and I then bid each other goodbye, and got into our respective cars. Clint pulled away from beside me, but I stayed put in my car. I couldn’t get the piece off of my mind. From the way Steve was playing at the piano, it seems like he has a very emotional connection to this piece. I’ve never seen him so connected to a piece, and that’s what makes me think it’s about his mom. His mom was diagnosed with spinal cancer, and is paralyzed from the waist down. It completely ruined her career in the orchestra, and her love of the violin. I barely ever want to play it around her, I don’t want her to miss it anymore than she already does. 

I put my keys in the ignition and started to drive away from the school. Only two more practice sessions. Only two more days of wondering who this piece is about, and why it’s so special. 


	2. 2 Days Till Concert

** _~2 days till concert~_ **

“Hey, Stevie. Can I ask you a question?” I ask, my arms thrown around his smaller shoulders while we were walking down the hall. We were heading down to the practice wall where everyone was waiting for us. 

“Anything, Buck. Go for it!” He responded, beaming at me. He’s like his own ray of sunshine. It’s so refreshing seeing his smile after a long day. Even when I feel my worst, Steve makes me feel ten times better. He always has. 

“Who’s the song about?” I asked. I genuinely was curious, and I’m insanely nosy. He normally tells me everything, but he won’t tell me anything about this piece. I’m completely in the dark here. 

“It's a secret, Bucky.” He smirked at me while opening the double doors to the practice room. He’s so annoying when he’s like this, but I don’t really mind right now. He looks so cute when he’s excited, and getting him on this topic always gets him excited. He’s treating this song like it’s his own baby. 

“You better tell me soon!” I frowned at him. We share everything we each other and I’m just hurt he won’t tell me. 

“I will! You’ll find out on the concert, trust me.” Steve said, rubbing my arm with his hand. I was probably as red as a tomato; I always am when he touches me. I’ve been helplessly in love with him since I was about 12. At first I thought it was a bromance, but the B was quickly removed. I noticed it was a lot more than that when I caught myself staring at his lips more frequently. Maybe it’s selfish, but I want him to be more than just my best friend. 

“You swear?” I asked. I just want to know why he has such a special connection to the piece. 

“I swear.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading! If you ever have any fic ideas you should totally contact me! It would be really cool!   
Insta- buchanancandidate   
Twitter- mevemogers   
Tumblr- spicypistachio


	3. 1 Day Till Concert

<strike></strike>

** _~1 day till concert~ _ **

“Bucky, I really do love you, but I swear to god if you don’t get that F sharp right I am brutally killing you.” Steve said deadpanned. 

“Literally no one will hear it, Steve. I love you too, but you are actually driving me insane.” I respond back to him. I know what he means by his “I love you” but I wish he meant more. Plus, I’m really not trying to have a fight with my best friend in front of everyone here. I really do think I’m getting the F# right and he’s hearing something else. 

“I’ll hear it. I know you can hit it, just focus on it next time. Really Buck, it would mean a lot to me.” He pleaded, giving me puppy dog eyes. Of course I couldn’t say no to that face. 

“I really am trying. I’ll focus on it more, I swear.” I said, flipping my music binder back open and placing it on the stand. 

“Thank you.” He responded, walking back to his piano and getting ready to count us off to start again. 

“Seriously, Buck. Why don’t you just ask him out?” Sam asked me, Natasha nodding her head in agreement. 

“I’m just worried about ruining our friendship.” I explained. I wasn’t exactly lying. If we ever broke up, our friendship would probably go in the trash. Plus, why would he say yes to me anyways? He’s never really shown any interest in me. 

“Bullshit. You know that won’t ruin your friendship with him. He loves you more than anything.” Natasha responded. 

“And you know that how?” I asked her. Did he actually say that to her? 

“He literally just said he loved you in there, man. I don’t think it gets more  _ friendly  _ than that.” Sam explained. I guess he was right. But Steve always says he loves me, it’s always been our thing. 

“I don’t know. I guess you’re right,” I begin to say. I want to say I’ll ask him out, but I don’t see a way I could. Normally I’m flamboyant and confident, but there’s no way I’d be able to tell him how I feel without becoming a blubbering mess. “Anyways, I’d better get home. I don’t want my mom killing me.” I said to Sam and Nat, swiftly making my way to the car to get away. I don’t want an intervention on how I like Steve and how I should ask him out. I already know how I feel about him, and I don’t want that spreading around to everyone at school. I don’t want to be known as the loser who couldn’t even ask someone out on a date. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! If you ever want to give me any ideas for my fic, my social media is below! 
> 
> Insta- buchanancandidate   
Twitter- mevemogers   
Tumblr- spicypistachio


	4. 0 Days Till Concert

**~0 days till the concert~ **

“He looks like he’s going to vomit back there. You should go talk to him.” Mrs. Carter said to me. Mrs. Peggy has always favored Steve. His whole life revolves around music, a trait that Mrs. Peggy Carter adores. She finds him to be insanely special, a child prodigy. He’s the kid with perfect pitch, has played piano since he could walk, and plays almost every instrument under the sun. A lot of people expect him to want to be this big time composer, but he just wants to be a music arts teacher. He was always inspired by Peggy Carter, and he wanted to show this at his senior showcase. Every Talented Music senior has to compose and perform their own songs in front of everyone. It’s a way to show our musical growth from our freshman year. Steve has looked forward to this since he was a seventh grader, but now that the time has come he looks like he’s lost his mind. 

“Steve, you back here?” I shout to the male dressing room. We do our concerts in the auditorium, so we have full access to the dressing rooms. That’s one of the perks of Tony Stark dating Pepper Potts. They’ve been dating since freshman year and she’s always convinced the theatre department to let us use their auditorium. God bless Tony Stark. 

“Yeah, I’m back here.” Steve said from inside the dressing room. I took this as my queue to walk inside, and when I did, he was lying on the couch on his back. He looked sick to his stomach. I walked up to the couch and took a seat next to him. He immediately threw his legs on top of my thighs. 

“You alright? You look like you’re gonna puke at any moment.” I asked. He looked awful. He’s never been this nervous before a performance. 

“I’m just a little nervous that’s all.” He sighed, scooting deeper into the sofa. 

“I’m always here for you if you need to talk, Steve. I’m with you till the end of the line, pal.” I said to him. I’m always going to be there for him, and I hope he feels the same way. We even got accepted into the same college, Juilliard. There really is no way for him to leave me, we are even going to be sharing a small apartment together. 

“I know, Bucky. I love you.” He said while slowly rising up from the sofa to stand again. I joined him and stood up from the couch as well, and grabbed his hand before he could move any further. 

“Right back at you, Steve.” I smiled and we slowly made our way through the door. 

All of us had our music set up on our stands and now we were just waiting for Steve to introduce himself and explain why he wrote this song, something we’ve all been eager to hear. As he walks closer and closer to the microphone stand I feel my heart racing faster and faster. I know the song will probably be dedicated to Sarah, but a small part of it wants it dedicated to me. It may be selfish, but it’s the honest truth. Steve finally makes it up to the mic stand and begins his speech. 

“Hi, my name is Steven Grant Rogers. I play various orchestral instruments, and I really love composing;” He starts to explain. “My whole life I’ve had this love to write music, but no idea how to express my own feelings through it. I’ve been able to accomplish my own feelings through only small parts of my work, but tonight this one is different.” He pauses. 

“This is it! He’s finally gonna say it.” Natasha mumbled under her breath. 

“I’ve dedicated this song to the most important person in my life. Someone who’s always been there for my happiest moments and for my saddest moments. Someone who’s never left my side and continues to support me and my choices no matter what. Someone who loves me for who I am, not what I do, and someone who I love more than myself and anyone else. There’s more things I’d want to tell them, but I think they’ll be able to tell what I mean in the composition.” 

“Probably about Sarah again.” I think to myself in my head. His mother is everything to him, so all of this fits in her category. 

“The title of this song is  _ End of the Line _ , and I dedicate it to James Buchanan Barnes.” He backed away from the stand, and the crowd began to clap all the way until he sat down into his seat. 

I must’ve looked like a deer in headlights up on the stage. I was just totally caught off guard, but that’s also when everything began to sink in. The emotional legato lines. The deep crescendos and diminuendos. The long held out phrases to give it more emotion. The lead parts of the violin and piano express all the parts of our relationship. The friendship, the fights, and our deeper feelings for each other. I’ve always thought it was one-sided. I never thought I stood a chance, but here I was playing the one song Steve Rogers wrote for me. The one song Steve put his all into to make sure it was perfect. He wanted everything to be perfect for me. He wanted to express every little note and detail and make sure I hear it as many times as I could. He was so connected to this piece because it was the essence of us. It was what we were. The individual parts of the song were beautiful, but when they came together it was a perfect match. It was us. 

I’ve never wanted to finish a piece faster. I just wanted to see him. I wanted to hug him and thank him for everything, not just this. He truly is my world, and I wouldn’t be myself without him. I was finally able to get a word in with him when everyone stopped congratulating him on the beautiful delivery of his speech and how amazing his song was. 

“Steve!” I exclaimed, placing my hand on his shoulder and pulling him into me. It was probably one of the most intense hugs I’ve ever had with him. 

“I’m guessing you understand what I meant?” He queried. 

“Of course I understood, punk.” I chuckled, squeezing him tighter into our embrace. 

“I hate you, jerk.” He said, laughing into my chest, his head slowly rising to meet my face. This time, I knew what he meant. I knew that he really did love me the way I wanted him too, I just finally had to realize it. 

“I love you too, Stevie.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so so much for reading! I really enjoyed writing this small fic! My social media is in the previous chapters incase you ever want to give me any ideas! Until next time!


End file.
